The present invention belongs to a class of stud mounting clips that are useful in the construction of buildings, particularly light commercial buildings.
Many buildings are constructed with steel stud wall systems. For a variety of reasons, it is often advantageous to construct these walls systems with connectors that permit a degree of relative movement between the framing members. Buildings often settle on their foundations once constructed. This can cause exterior walls to go out of plumb, in turn causing damage to the surrounding foundation and to interior structures such as floors. Exterior walls and frames, particularly in light commercial buildings, are often made from materials that have different coefficients of expansion than that of the structure's exterior sheathing. Exposure to extreme temperatures can produce gaps in the exterior sheathing if the panels expand or contract more than the framing. Gaps allow cold air and moisture to intrude. Exterior walls of buildings are also subject to deflection from wind or seismic forces, and a degree of freedom of movement can reduce stress and prevent fracture of connected parts. Furthermore, curtain walls are not designed to support vertical loads and must therefore by isolated from deflection of the primary load-bearing support structure of the building due to changes in live or dead loads carried by that structure.
There are a variety of patented slip clips that permit relative movement between structural members. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,664,392, 6,612,087, 6,688,069 and 8,555,592 all teach metal slip clips with special reinforcing members such as flanges or embossments to strengthen the clip. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,720,571 and 5,846,018 teach slip clips that use a rivet as the fastener on which sliding between the members occurs. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,104,024 and 7,503,150 teach connecting sliding fasteners in separate slots with a u-shaped washer to strengthen the connection. U.S. Pat. No. 8,511,032 teaches using multiple sliding fasteners in a single slot.
The slip clip connector of the present invention has been designed to achieve strong load values while being inexpensive to manufacture. The present invention focuses on the fasteners anchoring the connector to the vertical member to improve the performance of the connection.